Madrid in 4 Days: everything you need to know

Although there is a lot to see and do in Madrid, four days is enough time to get to know the most important parts of the city. The secret is to take a correct organization, so I share with you my ideal itinerary for a stay of this duration in the Spanish capital.

The first day of your four-day tour of Madrid will be dedicated to visiting some of the most important squares and palaces in the heart of the city.

Stroll through the Puerta del Sol and the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree

In the center of Madrid is located one of the most important squares of the city, one of the favorite places for locals and a must-see for tourists, the Puerta del Sol. Besides being a large square, it is surrounded by important buildings with historic and unique architecture.

Here are also two super important points that every tourist should know and that are included in most of the tours if you book a guided tour of Madrid:

• Madrid's kilometer zero, which serves as the origin of the radial roads of the urban fabric.
• The statue of the Bear and the Modroño, placed in 1967. A photograph next to the statue is a mandatory requirement in any visit to this city.

Walk around the Plaza Mayor and the San Miguel Market

From Puerta del Sol walking along Calle Mayor, the Plaza and Mercado de San Miguel are only five minutes away. It is a nice meeting place, surrounded by Gothic style buildings. If you visit Madrid at Christmas, here is a fantastic Christmas market that you should not miss.

The Mercado de San Miguel is located directly on the Plaza Mayor and is a fantastic structure in iron and glass where you will find an enviable gastronomic offer. In fact, it is an ideal place to book a gastronomic tour.

My recommendation? Take an early lunch break here, enjoy the views of the Plaza Mayor and then relax with a coffee.

Visit the Almudena Cathedral

The city's most important religious building is located just a six-minute walk from the Mercado de San Miguel. After lunch, the afternoon of your first day is the best time to book a guided tour of the Almudena Cathedral:

• Hours: from 9 am to 8:30 pm Monday to Sunday. If you want to know the museum area and the dome, the schedule is from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 2:30 pm.

• Entrance fee: Free to visit the cathedral; about 6 € to go up to the museum area and the dome. Regarding the guided tour, it has a price of about 50 €.

• Duration of the visit: Approximately 2 hours with the dome. However, the guided tour is much more complete and lasts 2 hours and a half.

Take a tour of the Royal Palace of Madrid

What was once the home of Spanish royalty is today one of the most important cultural and historical centers of the city. If you want to know why it appears on the list of must-see places in Madrid, spend the rest of the afternoon of your first day touring the facilities.

The best way to visit the Royal Palace and take advantage to see everything important is undoubtedly to book tickets in advance.

Practical information

• Hours: Between October and March, from 10 am to 6 pm; from April to September, from 10 am to 8 pm.

• Ticket price: the entrance without guide costs a minimum of 25 €, while the guided tour with all explanations and direct access without queues costs 29 €.

• Duration of the visit: 1 hour and a half approx.

Stroll through the Sabatini Gardens at dusk

Sabatini is the name of the gardens of the Royal Palace and are located on the north side of the structure. Designed in the purest Neoclassical Garden style, this green lung is one of the best places to watch the sunset in Madrid.

After your visit to the Royal Palace, tour the site and the imposing fountains and sculptures. You will be able to take pictures of the Palace at sunset.

In the evening, take a gastronomic tapas tour in the center of Madrid.

One of my favorite things to do in Madrid after sunset is one of the wine and tapas tours around the city, which you can book here. There are many options to suit all types of travelers.

The second day of your tour of Madrid is dedicated to the Paseo del Prado area with the museums, gardens and numerous monuments in the surrounding area.

Start at the Plaza and Palacio de Cibeles at sunrise

Start the morning of your second day in Madrid watching the sunrise in one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. The Palacio de Cibeles currently houses the city's town hall and is one of the most loved and cared for buildings by the locals.

It is worth a trip inside to go up to its terrace viewpoint from which you can see the square in its entirety and the beginning of the Gran Via. In addition, so that you do not miss any detail, you can book a tour of the viewpoint of the Palacio de Cibeles.

Continue to the Neptune Fountain

Leaving Plaza de Cibeles behind, take the beautiful Paseo del Prado avenue to head to the next important photo spot in the city of Madrid: the Neptune Fountain, located in the famous Plaza de Canovas.

Here you will find a fantastic neoclassical monument with a marble carving of the famous Roman god. The square, in turn, is surrounded by beautiful architecture whose origin dates back to the 18th century. It is one of the points of interest that you will visit if you book a guided tuk tuk tour in Madrid.

Do not miss the visit of the Prado Museum

Follow your route along the Paseo del Prado avenue to reach the most important museum in the city. Famous worldwide for housing one of the most impressive collections of paintings from the period spanning from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.

Due to the size of the space, the best way to visit the Prado Museum is to book a guided tour, which will show us the most important works. However, you also have the option of buying your tickets for the Prado Museum in advance and visit it freely.

If you want to buy a souvenir, the Prado store has some really attractive curiosities for art lovers.

Practical information

• Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, from 10 am to 8 pm; and on Sundays, from 10 am to 7 pm.
• Admission fee: approximately 20 € for an adult ticket.
• Duration of the visit: You will need about three hours to visit the most important rooms and works of the museum.

Lunch in the surroundings: The gastronomic offer of this area is really varied; so after your visit to the museum I recommend you to take a break to eat in some of the restaurants near the Prado Museum.

Spend the afternoon in the Retiro Park.

After spending a few hours inside the museum, the best plan to clear your mind and breathe some fresh air is to take a stroll through the most beautiful and famous park in the city: the Retiro Park.

With a land area covering 118 hectares, the park is not only beautiful but also immense, so my advice is to focus on the most interesting areas. To do this, you have the possibility to book a tour of the Retiro. The must-see is:

• Visit the Palacio del Cristal: in its beginnings it was used as a greenhouse, however currently this fantastic structure is used for the exhibition of temporary exhibitions of the Prado Museum.
• Visit the Paseo de las Estatuas: In a beautiful walk through the greenery of the Retiro you can explore the statues representing important Spanish monarchs.
• Take sunset pictures at the Retiro Lake: the beautiful artificial lake of the Retiro Park is considered one of the best places in Madrid to take sunset pictures. You can't miss it!

Practical information

• Opening hours: from October to March the park is open from 6 am to 10 pm; the rest of the year until midnight.
• Entrance fee: access to the park is free and you can enjoy a guided tour from 13 €.
• Duration of the visit: As long as you want.

And in the evening, attend a flamenco show

One of the best things to do in Madrid at night is to attend one of its famous flamenco shows.

Live shows can be enjoyed in numerous entertainment centers in the old part of the city and always by talented local artists. Here are some options:

• Flamenco show at Torres Bermejas in Madrid, from $31.
• Flamenco show at Teatro Flamenco in Madrid, from $70.
• Flamenco show at Corral de la Morería in Madrid, from $55.
• Flamenco show at Essential Madrid, from $36.

Practical information

• Price: between 32 € and 70 €.
• Duration: from one to three hours depending on the option you choose.

Spend your third day shopping in the center of Madrid and visit the most exclusive areas of the city.

Make a stop at Plaza Callao

The best way to start a morning of sightseeing in the northwest of Madrid is undoubtedly the Plaza del Callao. Considered a symbol of Madrid, is the equivalent in Madrid to the famous Time Square in New York.

At this point converge three major streets of the city: Preciados, Calle del Carmen and Gran Via. Take the opportunity to take a few iconic photos before continuing your exploration. And remember that you can comfortably reach this area if you book your ticket for the Madrid tourist bus.

Coffee morning and shopping on Gran Via

No tour of Madrid would be complete without a visit to the city's most important and famous boulevard and shopping street. Whether you're into fashion, gastronomy, history or architecture, there's something for everyone on Gran Via. An ideal place to take a private shopping tour of Madrid.

Here is a sample of what you can find:

• Cafés on Gran Vía: Faborit San Bernardo, Celicioso Hortaleza, Granier, Prioritè Art Coffee Shop, Noma.
• Fashion stores on Gran Via: New Balance, Stradivarius, ZARA, Salsa Jeans, Grassy España.
• Famous buildings on Madrid's Gran Via: Edificio Metropolis.

and Edificio Carrión.

In the afternoon, visit the Plaza de España and the Cervantes Monument

If you walk along the Gran Via to the end you will find the Plaza de España and the famous Monument to Miguel Cervantes, where he is accompanied by his two mythical characters: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Around the Plaza de España you will find some important buildings, such as the Compañía Asturiana de Minas, the Edificio España and the Torre Madrid. My recommendation is to book a bike tour in Madrid and know in detail this area of the city.

Go to the Debod Temple at sunset

From the center of the Plaza de España to the Debod Temple is only a 10 minute walk, so my recommendation is that you explore this important jewel of Madrid and wait for the sunset strolling through its gardens.

Even so, an important fact: if you book your ticket for the tourist bus, you should know that one of its stops is precisely the Temple of Debod.

The structure that makes up the monument is more than 2,000 years old and was a gift brought to Spain from Egypt. Needless to say that the historical peculiarity and aesthetics make it a monument totally out of the ordinary in the set of structures that make up the landscape of Madrid.

Practical information

• Hours: closed on Mondays; Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm.
• Entrance fee: free.

At night go up to the roof of the Círculo de Bellas Artes

From the Templo Debod, you can board the Madrid bus that runs along the Gran Via to reach the Círculo de Bellas Artes in a journey that will last about 20 minutes or you can also book your ticket for the night tourist bus and take advantage to meet other destinations of value along the way.

This important Madrid building built in 1920 has clear influences of neoclassical architecture; however, the best part is its panoramic terrace that will offer you fabulous views of the Gran Via, Plaza de Cibeles and the entire historic center of Madrid.

Practical information

• Opening hours: Monday to Thursday from 12:00 to 1:00; Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 to 2:00 and Sundays from 10:00 to 1:00.
• Admission fee: 5 € approximately.

The fourth day is to see the rest of Madrid's iconic monuments and sites, as well as the city's second most important art museum.

Start at Puerta de Alcalá

The last day of your tour of Madrid begins at one of the city's most iconic monuments. Get up early to visit the Puerta de Alcalá before continuing your day's route. A key if you book a guided tour of Madrid of any kind.

Visit the Botanical Garden of Madrid

From Alcalá take the Paseo del Prado avenue to reach the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid in a journey that will take approximately 15 minutes.

The Garden is especially beautiful and pleasant if you visit the city in summer or autumn. As of today, it houses approximately 5,000 different species of plants and trees and four beautiful terraces where you can sit and relax. My favorite plan is to visit it as part of a bike tour of Madrid.

Practical information

• Opening hours: it opens at 10 am. Regarding the closing time, from November to February, at 6 pm; from May to August, at 9 pm; from March to October, at 7 pm, and from April to September at 8 pm.
• Admission fee: 6 € entrance ticket for adults.
• Duration of the visit: as long as you think it is prudent.

Get to know the iconic Atocha Station

Just 10 minutes from the Botanico de Madrid is the Atocha Station, one of the most beautiful train stations you will find in a city, thanks to its dazzling tropical garden perfectly maintained and in which it is possible to count more than 500 plant species.

Once you walk through the station, you can take a break for lunch at any of the restaurants located around the Prado Museum, although my recommendation is to enjoy a private gastronomic tour of Madrid with 10 tastings, a delicious experience you will not forget.

Visit the Reina Sofia Museum

The second most important museum in the city is the Reina Sofia Museum. If you like art, especially of recent times, spend a few hours of your afternoon exploring this important historical monument and the works on display here. The collection mainly comprises works by Spanish artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró.

Possibly the best way to get to know the museum is to book a guided tour of the Reina Sofia Museum that will take you through the most important works of the museum or if you prefer to visit the museum on your own, you can book your entrance ticket to the Reina Sofia Museum.

At the end of your visit don't forget to visit the beautiful Reina Sofia Museum store to take home a few souvenirs.

Practical information

• Opening hours: from 10 am to 6 pm or 9 pm depending on the time of year; in summer it usually has extended hours.
• Admission fee: 15 € approximately the adult ticket and 30 € for the visit.
• Duration of the visit: from 2 to 3 hours depending on how calmly you make the visit.

Enjoy a segway or bike tour at dusk

As you have seen, there is a lot to see and do in Madrid. Now I propose you to say goodbye to the city in the most fun and peculiar way you can imagine: booking a bike tour in Madrid or a segway tour in Madrid at the end of the day.

Being one of the best excursions that can be done in the city, they are very popular among tourists and a last chance to see and know the monuments or spaces that, for one reason or another, you could not know in your four-day tour of Madrid.

Practical information

• Price: from 27 € approximately.
• Duration: depending on the itinerary and the company.

One last tip for your four-day trip to Madrid

Note that this activity plan does not include the day of arrival in the city nor the day of departure, if you want to know a little shorter itineraries I recommend you take a look at the following guides:

• Itinerary to see Madrid in 3 days.
• Itinerary to see Madrid in 2 days.
• Itinerary to see Madrid in 1 day.